Recently, I have become obsessed with jellyfish in outer space. Granted, this may superficially spawn from Star Trek: The Next Generation’s first episode, “Encounter at Farpoint.” But it’s born more from my last visit to the Birch Aquarium. I’ve always adored aquariums, at least those that allow enough room for the fish to actually live. At our visit in May, I was delighted by the prevalence of a variety of jellies. Their grace and thoroughly alien appearance make them out to be perfect space-farers, if the opportunity arose.

When I was a kid, I hated jellies. They appeared to be slimy, and I was told they would sting, and I’d have to have someone pee on my foot to make it better. That was the deal-breaker for me. I have never really minded slimy creatures, except for sweaty humans, but I will be damned if I ever agree to being peed upon.

A girl’s got her limits, yo.

But, yeah, jellyfish in space. I’ve created a folder where I’m collecting soul-impaling Hubble images along with some of the most ethereally beautiful jellies, with the intention of combining them in unique ways with help from the Intuos.

I’ve already made two, which I shall share here.

Tell me this isn't the perfect combination! Wouldn't it be wondrous if you looked out into the infinite night and beheld a slow procession of space jellies, traveling to their jelly temple beyond the reaches of imagination?

I remember reading Carl Sagan's Cosmos when I was younger and in the edition I had there were illustrations of hypothetical life that could exist in Jupiter's atmosphere. Some of them looked like giant space jellies.